Newbie question - Annealling your beads...

[veeanca]

hey guys
I've just ordered my first lampwork kit and kiln (going to pick it up next thursday and am very excited :biggrin:) but here's a question that I can't find any answers to...

what is the general rule of thumb when putting your beads in the kiln? for example, how long can you leave a bead out of the flame before it has to be stuck in the kiln? also, i imagine that you could only make 1 bead at a time, so what happens when you're done with one bead and it's in the kiln, then you make another? is it ok to open the kiln and pop the new bead in? does it mean that you have to keep the kiln on longer and will it impact the bead that's been in there the longest?

as you all can see, i'm very confused... and any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Cosmo]

Well, how long you can leave it out depends on many variables, but the short answer is "not long".

You want the glass to still have a little bit of glow when you put it in. Not so much where it's not solid and will deform if you quit rotating it, but enough that it's not going to suffer thermal shock. I usually wait about 15-20 seconds or so after it's out of the flame before putting it in.

Some glass likes to be put in hotter. When I do something that has been encased with Lauscha, for example, I put it in with a good bit of glow still showing.

As for putting more in the kiln, that's no problem. The short amount of time that you have the door open won't hurt anything.

[Rebekah]

A book! We need to get you a book! LOL

Cindy Jenkins
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579906338/002-9471366-8816827?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

Corina Tettinger
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972660208/002-9471366-8816827?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

Both are excellent.

Also, search the threads here and at www.isgb.org. The ISGB website is an absolute WEALTH of knowledge.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing your creations soon!

Rebekah

[JanMD]

Veeanca -- These are excellent questions!
<<how long can you leave a bead out >> Depends on size, since the larger beads will hold the heat longer. The smaller ones (or the ones with complicated wings, arms, or other outcroppings which cool very quickly) ought to go into the kiln as soon as they develop a skin. Maybe 15 seconds.
<< is it ok to open the kiln and pop the new bead in? >> Of course! You'll have the door open only for a few seconds. The heat loss during that time won't damage the beads that are already in the kiln.
<<does it mean that you have to keep the kiln on longer >> The last bead of the day needs to soak at the annealing temp for a length of time dictated by its size. For the large beads I make, that's 45 minutes.
<< will it impact the bead that's been in there the longest? >> The earlier beads can sit and soak at the annealing temperature all day with no adverse effects whatsoever.

The way all this works in practice is that you turn on the kiln at the beginning of your beadmaking session. As it gets up to the annealing temp (for me it's 960 degrees F) I fool around making stringer or whatever. When it's up to temp I can begin making beads and loading them in, one at a time, as soon as I finish them. At the end of the session, when I have loaded my last bead of the day, I close and latch the kiln and let the kiln sit at the annealing temp for 45 minutes. At the end of that time I pop a piece of fire brick over the vent hole at the top (this is to keep the heat in as long as possible) and I turn it off and unplug it. Others make use of elaborate programs (on programable kiln controllers) that cool the kiln down in a timed cycle, but I don't like to leave the kiln on when I am not in the studio. As far as I can see, my beads cool slowly enough to eliminate stress without a programmed cool-down cycle. (In fact, when I unload the kiln in the morning, the beads are still a little bit warm.)

For more on all this, see Arrow Springs' "What Is Annealing? Why Is It Important? And How To Do It." --> http://www.arrowsprings.com/html/annealing.html
And there are some other links here: http://www.sgb-midatlantic.org/how-tos.html#Annealing
There is a chart there for suggested annealing temperatures for various kinds of glass.

The other part of the equation is the soak time. Brian Kerkvliet's article has a chart for the recommended soak times for various sizes of beads. It's here: http://www.inspirationfarm.com/GG/articles/anstats.html. (The time segment in the chart labeled T3 is the soak time.)
More of Brian's wisdom is here: http://www.inspirationfarm.com/GG/articles/article3.html

Again, these are good questions and ones that I spent considerable time worrying about when I began to make beads.

JanMD